


Heartbeat

by TanyaReed



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Episode Related, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 10:23:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1601441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TanyaReed/pseuds/TanyaReed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina's heart is back where it belongs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [layla_aaron](https://archiveofourown.org/users/layla_aaron/gifts).



Robin woke suddenly, finding himself in darkness.  It was silent and still and, for a moment, he was puzzled.  Then his mind registered the soft bed beneath him and the slippery sheets against his bare skin.  He was wrapped around someone, his arm holding her close and his cheek resting against the dip in her shoulder.

"Regina?"  he whispered.

Her breath was deep and even, and she didn't respond to his voice. Robin smiled and brought his hand up from her hip over her stomach, enjoying the feeling of her skin.  She sighed sweetly at the touch but otherwise didn't stir.  Gently he caressed the skin above her belly button with his thumb.

Being there with her was a gift. With the crazy events of the day, things could just as easily have gone the other way, leaving him alone and mourning once more.

Careful not to wake her, Robin turned his head slightly to press a kiss to her collarbone.  It tasted sweet and felt like silk against his lips.  Shifting slightly, he moved himself down until his face was even with her breast.    Robin was tempted to continue his kisses there so she would wake and love him again, but he quickly dismissed the thought. There was something he wanted more.

As he continued to tenderly rub his thumb across her skin, he settled back against her, placing his ear to her chest.  He held his breath and waited.

The sound was slow and quiet, but it was clearly audible in the grave silence.  Regina's heartbeat.  Strong.  Resilient.  A heart that refused to stop beating no matter what was done to it.  He knew that sometimes she had wished that it would just stop, and he was so glad that it kept on fighting regardless.

For the first time, he allowed himself to admit how frightened he had been. The whole time Regina was without her heart, he kept expecting something to happen to it.  A heart was magical but it was easily crushed.  The thought of it in Zelena's hands was enough to make him sick to his stomach. That's why, when they fought their final battle, Robin's first thought had been to protect Regina's heart. Taking it into his own hand had been such a relief that even now the memory was almost like a physical ache.

Closing his eyes, Robin let Regina's heartbeat soothe him.  It sounded almost like a lullaby.  Each beat loosened something inside of him until he wasn't sure whether he wanted to sleep or to weep.  He took a shaky breath and let gratitude fill him.  

Regina was whole.  She had been fighting to put her pieces all back together long before she'd lost her heart.  It had been obvious in everything she said and everything she did.  After the battle, once she'd accepted her heart from him, he'd seen something in her eyes.  The pieces were finally all there. Some of them were jagged, ill fitting, and painfully sharp, but they were enough to make her whole.  Henry.  Snow.  Robin himself.

And, of course, her heart. Now that it was back where it belonged,   Robin would do everything in his power to make sure it stayed there.  She would never be broken into pieces again.  Anyone who tried would have to answer to him. The jagged pieces would heal. They'd grow and reshape themselves until the pain was gone.

Protectively, he slid his hand to her side so he could hug her.  Her small body seemed fragile in sleep.  Her breath was still deep and even, but her hand came up to rest against his hair.  It seemed to say, 'It's okay.  Go to sleep.'  A heaviness settled on him, in  his chest, in his mind, as his body slowly began to pick up her rhythm.  Their chests rose and fell in unison.  Robin relaxed and let the beating of her heart lull him to the edge of sleep and gently push him over.


End file.
